Fatfree Tip #2: Corn on the Cob

I love corn on the cob, but I avoided it for a long time after I gave up oils and margarine because I didn't know what to put on it. Then I discovered a combination that I actually like better than margarine: Lime juice and spicy seasoning.

The tanginess of lime juice is a perfect complement to the sweetness of fresh corn. And, as regular readers of this blog know, I love all things spicy. My favorite corn seasoning is Via Nueva Pico de Gallo, a combination of salt and mixed hot chili peppers. Other hot and spicy mixes, such as Creole Seasoning, are also tasty, as is chipotle chili powder or cayenne pepper (for an extremely spicy kick with no added salt). I just squeeze the lime juice onto the corn and sprinkle on the seasoning. I never miss the margarine!

I'd love to have more (perhaps non-spicy) options for eating corn on the cob. What's your favorite low-fat corn topping?

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For another great way to prepare corn, check out...


Roasted Corn on the Cob

Colorful Tofu Salad with Basil and Cashews

It's swim-meet season, that dreaded time of year when once a week my family sits outside in the humid Mississippi heat while my daughter periodically gets to jump into a pool and swim as though Jaws himself were after her. She stays nice and cool while the rest of us wilt. Since we're out there sizzling for five hours that stretch right through dinner, I often bring along a picnic of sandwiches and salads.

One of our favorite picnic foods is this tofu salad, which my husband first made for me while we were dating. (I was so impressed with his cooking!) He had a couple of vegetarian cookbooks that I hadn't seen before, and this was in one of them, The Best 125 Meatless Main Dishes. The other day as I was planning to make this salad, I took a good look at the book and noticed for the first time that it was co-written by Mindy Toomay, whose blog I read regularly. Small (vegetarian) world!

I've adapted the salad to reduce the fat, but I've increased the seasonings and added fresh basil so that you won't miss the olive oil. It's a colorful salad, full of the flavors of summer.



Colorful Tofu Salad with Basil and Cashews

1 teaspoon ground flaxseed
3 tablespoons warm water
1 pound firm, reduced-fat tofu, rinsed and lightly pressed to remove moisture
1 large carrot, diced
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1 rib celery, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon white balsamic or white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons stone-ground mustard
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1/2 teaspoon salt--or to taste
generous grinding of pepper
1/4-1/2 cup raw cashews (cashews may be toasted for a few minutes if you like)

In a small mixing bowl or measuring cup, mix the ground flax with the warm water and set aside to thicken.

Crumble the tofu into a large bowl. Add all the chopped vegetables and basil.

When the flax seed mixture has thickened slightly, add the remaining ingredients, except cashews, to it and blend thoroughly. Pour the mixture over the tofu and vegetables, and stir to combine.

Refrigerate the salad until well chilled--the longer, the better. Just before serving, stir in the cashews.

This is excellent served over lettuce, as the original recipe suggests, as a sandwich filling (great in a wrap with lettuce and tomato), or as pictured above, stuffed into a lovely, ripe tomato.

Thank to Mindy and her co-author Susann Geiskopf-Hadler for a great recipe!

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Eat to Live

Okra and Lima Bean Masala

There's a farm stand near my house that sells fresh produce throughout the summer. It's the only place I know where I can get fresh, shelled lima beans, black-eyed peas, and several varieties of field peas. The last time I went I was happy to find vine-ripened tomatoes, peaches, sweet watermelons, and tender, young okra. I came home with several bags almost overflowing with fruits and veggies.

I decided to combine two of my purchases, baby lima beans and okra, into a curry. While okra is a traditional ingredient in Indian food, I don't think that lima beans are. Nevertheless, they worked well in this recipe, which turned out to taste something like a gumbo with Indian seasonings.

Mango powder and red chilli powder are available at Indian markets, as is garam masala. Make sure the spices you use are fresh, and adjust the chilli powder and the garam masala to suit your level of spice-tolerance. The garam masala that I used was not very spicy, so this came out much milder than I expected. If you really want to turn up the heat, add a red or green chilli pepper to the onion as it's sautéing.

Okra and Lima Bean Masala

1 pound small, tender okra
1 large onion, sliced into thin wedges
1 tsp. whole cumin seeds
1/2 tsp. mango powder
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. red chilli powder
1/2 tsp. coriander powder
1/4 tsp. turmeric
1-3 tsp. garam masala (store-bought or homemade)
2 large, ripe tomatoes, chopped (about 3 cups)
1 cup fresh or frozen baby lima beans
1 1/2 cups water
salt to taste

Trim the tops of the okra and cut into 1 to 1-1/2 inch pieces. If the okra is small, you should just cut it in half.

In a large non-stick pot, sauté the onion until it begins to brown. Add the cumin seeds and sauté one minute more.

Add the mango powder, chilli powder, coriander, turmeric, and garam masala. Stir and cook 1 minute. Add the okra and cook for 2 more minutes.

Add the tomatoes, lima beans, and water. Cover and simmer on low heat until limas are tender. If you're using frozen beans, this may be in as little as 20 minutes. Fresh beans take longer to cook, up to an hour.

After the limas are tender, remove the cover, add salt if desired, and cook uncovered for 5 minutes. Serve hot over rice or other grain.

Other okra recipes: Stewed Okra and Tomatoes, Chickpea Gumbo (guest post at Veggie Venture)

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Eat to Live

Portabellas Stuffed with Pesto-Mashed Potatoes

I've been dying to stuff something into a portabella ever since I saw Catherine's lucious-looking Portobellos Stuffed with Lentils, Stilton, & Walnuts last month. I've also been looking for a unique way to serve mashed potatoes, so last night I came up with this idea. (I had thought about stuffing them with hummus, but since having hummus pizza on vacation, I'm over the idea of hot hummus, probably forever.)

This is more a side-dish than an appetizer, though you can pick them up and eat them with your fingers. Don't let the weird color fool you--they're really tasty! In fact, I just went to the fridge to have the leftovers for lunch and was crushed to find that my husband had taken them to work. So, to be safe, make two batches!

Portabellas Stuffed with Pesto-Mashed Potatoes
(serves 3 as a side dish)

10 ounces small potatoes (I used 5 or 6 fingerlings)
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup walnuts
1 cup basil, packed
1 tbsp. vegan parmesan or nutritional yeast
2-3 tbsp. plain soymilk
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 tbsp. chopped walnuts or toasted pinenuts (optional)
sprinkling of vegan parmesan (optional)
6 medium-sized portabella mushrooms

Boil the potatoes until they are completely tender. I pressure cooked mine for 6 minutes and let the pressure come down naturally. While they are cooking, make the pesto:

In a food processor, puree the garlic, 1/4 cup walnuts, and basil, using a tablespoon or two of water to make the blades run smoothly. Mixture should be coarsely chopped, not completely smooth.

When the potatoes are done, remove them to a mixing bowl and mash them thoroughly. (I chose to leave the skin on mine, but you may peel them first.) Add 2-3 tablespoons of soymilk, until they achieve a creamy yet still stiff consistency. Add the pesto mixture, 1 tablespoon of vegan parmesan or nutritional yeast, and salt and pepper to taste; blend thoroughly. Stir in 1 tablespoon of chopped walnuts or pinenuts, if desired.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Clean the portabellas and remove the stem and any fluffy flesh that surrounds it. Brush a baking dish with a few drops of olive oil, and use the same brush to brush the bottoms of the mushrooms. Fill the mushrooms with the potato mixture, heaping it in the middle, and set them in the baking dish. Sprinkle the tops with the parmesan, if desired. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until mushrooms are tender and potatoes are beginning to brown. Serve hot.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Eat to Live

Thai-Style Basil Tofu and Asparagus

We're a family of basil lovers. I've found that I can get my daughter to eat just about anything if it tastes like "pesto" (witness the miracle eggplant and squash quinoa from a few days ago). So each year I plant as much basil as I can find room for. This year I have a bumper crop, so don't be surprised if you see a lot of basil in the next couple of weeks.

One of my favorite non-pesto ways to use basil is in Thai dishes. This one is an adaptation of a Vegetarian Times recipe that uses green beans. I didn't have green beans, but I did have loads of asparagus since it's been so inexpensive lately. I was considering substituting it when I just happened upon a Thai recipe that used asparagus and basil, posted by the very creative Barbara at Tigers and Strawberries. Well, that sealed the deal! If Barbara said the combination was delicious, that was good enough for me. And she was right--the asparagus was crisp and tender, and the basil and lime leaves gave it just the right peppery tang. I went easy on the chiles, but for a true Thai taste, add more and really heat it up.

Thai-Style Basil Tofu and Asparagus
(serves 4)

1 lb. extra-firm tofu, drained, lightly pressed between paper towels, and cut into 1-inch cubes
sprinkling of soy sauce
4 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 small red or green chile peppers, seeded and minced
4 green onions, sliced thin
4 kaffir lime leaves, thinly sliced (If you don't have lime leaves, use 1 tsp. of grated lime peel and add it with the asparagus)
1 tbsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 lb. asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths
1 small or 1/2 large red bell pepper, sliced into 1-inch lengths
1/3 cup fat-free vegetable broth
1 cup chopped fresh basil

Toss the tofu cubes with a sprinkling of low-sodium soy sauce. Brush or spray a large, deep, non-stick skillet with oil or cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Place the tofu in the skillet and cook until one side is brown. Carefully turn over the cubes of tofu and brown on the other side.Toss in garlic, chiles, green onion, and lime leaves and stir-fry 1 minute.

Add soy sauce and mix well. Add asparagus, red bell pepper, and broth; cover and cook just until asparagus is bright green, 3 to 4 minutes. Add basil, and mix thoroughly, cooking until basil is just wilted. Serve hot.

I served this over Coconut-Cashew Quinoa (recipe still in the experimental stage), which added a very sweet taste. It would be equally delicious served over brown jasmine or basmati rice or other whole grain.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Eat to Live

Curried Red Lentil Soup with Dandelion Greens

I bought a bunch of organic dandelion greens a few days ago, just because they looked interesting and the price was good. I've never used dandelion greens before, never even eaten them (though I have pulled a few out of the garden now and then). So I went home and started doing some research that, frankly, scared me.

It seems that dandelion greens have a reputation for being bitter, with some cooks even going so far as to suggest boiling them twice, changing the water in between, in order to get the bitterness out. I am not a big fan of bitterness, so I started to worry that I had bought the wrong thing. I generally avoid mustard greens because they tend to be bitter, and it took me years to learn to like turnip and collard greens. So what was I to do with this reputedly bitter green?

The greens sat in the fridge until last night when, in a fit of bravery, I decided to throw them into the pot of red lentil soup I was making. I started small, just a cup, but when that didn't result in bitter soup, I added more and more. These greens weren't bitter at all, once they were cooked. In fact, they were delicious, as was the soup. And though you can't see it in the photo, the pretty red dandelion stems add lovely spashes of color to the soup

If you make it in the pressure cooker, this soup qualifies as fast food, but it still can be a quick meal if you cook it the conventional way. And if you're sensitive to spicy foods, reduce the amount of jalapeño and chilli pepper to taste.



Curried Red Lentil Soup with Dandelion Greens

1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small jalapeño or other chile pepper, seeds removed and minced
1 tsp. ginger paste
1 teaspoon whole cumin
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 tsp. coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon red chilli pepper or cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cups red lentils, rinsed
5 1/2 cups water
salt, to taste
2-4 cups chopped dandelion greens or other greens (spinach, kale, chard)

Note: If you're using an old-fashioned jiggle-top pressure cooker, add a teaspoon or two of oil to prevent foaming.

1) In a pressure cooker, sauté the onion until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, jalapeño, ginger paste, and cumin seeds and cook, stirring, for 1 minute more. Add the remaining seasonings and cook for another minute. Add the lentils and water. Seal the pressure cooker and bring it up to high pressure. Cook at high pressure for 4 minutes; then remove from heat and allow pressure to come down naturally.

2) Add the salt (if using), check the seasoning, and add more if necessary. Add additional water if the soup is too thick. Add the dandelion or other greens and simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes, or until the greens are tender.

Regular Directions: Instead of pressure cooking, simmer the soup in a large pot for about 35 to 45 minutes or until lentils are cooked. Proceed with step 2 above.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Eat to Live

Broccoli Rice Salad with Sesame-Ginger Dressing

I needed a salad for a Father's Day picnic yesterday, and I kept envisioning something with rice and broccoli in a sesame dressing. I looked around for a recipe but couldn't find one, so I wound up throwing this together. It turned out pretty well, if I do say so!

I used a combination of black glutinous rice and brown rice, but it would taste just as good with straight brown rice. I also used seasoned rice vinegar, which contains some sugar and salt. If you're cutting down on either of those ingredients, you can use regular rice vinegar and just add sweetener and salt to taste.

Broccoli Rice Salad with Sesame-Ginger Dressing
(serves 6-8 as a side dish)

1 cup uncooked rice
1 pound broccoli florets
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup sliced or slivered almonds
1/3 cup seasoned rice vinegar
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. sesame oil
2 tbsp. water
2 tsp. ginger, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes

Cook the rice in whatever way you choose. I cooked it in the rice cooker with a few drops of sesame oil. Since I used half glutinous black rice, mine turned out very sticky, so I rinsed it in a colander. If you use just brown or white rice, you shouldn't have to rinse it. Just set it aside to cool.

Steam the broccoli until just tender, about 5 minutes. Add it and the chopped red pepper and almonds to the cooled rice.

Combine the remaining ingredients in a measuring cup or small mixing bowl. Pour over the rice mixture and toss to combine. Refrigerate until completely chilled.

Notes for next time: If I make this again, I think I'll increase the amount of rice slightly and cut the broccoli into smaller florets. Some sliced water chestnuts might also give this salad more crunch.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free

Farmers' Market Quinoa

I love this recipe because it's full of vegetables. It started life as a pasta recipe in Robin Robertson's book 366 Simply Delicious Dairy-Free Recipes. I've kept her technique of adding soy milk to the sauce, but in addition to substituting the very healthy quinoa for pasta, I've increased the amount of eggplant and herbs used and added some chickpeas. It's still a very mild-tasting dish, but that's perfect for letting the flavors of the veggies shine.

The directions below are for cooking the quinoa in a pressure cooker, but if you don't have one, you can use a stove-top method. Just use 3 cups of water to cook the quinoa in a covered saucepan for about 15 minutes, or until it's tender and shows little white "tails."

Farmers' Market Quinoa

For the quinoa:

• 1 1/2 cups quinoa
• 2 1/4 cups water
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 3/4 tsp. salt (omit for low-sodium)

1 cup chopped onion
1 medium eggplant, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 medium yellow squash or zucchini -- cut into 1/4-inch cubes
4 cloves garlic -- minced
1 16-ounce can diced tomatoes (I use Muir Glen fire-roasted)
1 cup cooked chickpeas
1/2 cup soy milk
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 cup minced fresh basil -- or 2 tablespoons dried basil
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
soy parmesan (optional)

Rinse the quinoa well by placing it in a fine-mesh strainer and stirring it under running water for at least 2 minutes. This removes the coating of saponin (a natural insecticide) that can give quinoa a bitter taste.

Bring the water to boil in the pressure cooker and then add the quinoa and seasonings. Lock the lid in place, and bring to high pressure. Cook for one minute at high pressure; then remove from the heat and allow the pressure to come down naturally while you prepare the vegetables.

Spray or wipe a large, covered Dutch oven or wok with a tiny bit of olive oil; heat it over medium heat, add the onion, and cook for 5 minutes or until beginning to brown. Add the eggplant, bell pepper, zucchini, and garlic and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently but keeping it covered between stirrings. Add the tomatoes to the pan with their liquid, along with the chickpeas.

Lower the heat to a simmer and continue to cook 5 more minutes. Slowly stir in the soy milk. Blend well and season with oregano, basil, salt and pepper to taste.

Add the cooked quinoa to the vegetables and mix together thoroughly. Sprinkle with the soy parmesan, if desired. Serve immediately.

Kid-Friendly Alert: This one earns a gold star for getting E. to eat eggplants and squash, two veggies she claims to hate. And she went back for seconds! Woohoo!

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Eat to Live

Southwestern Black Bean Potato Salad

It was blazing hot, and The Spice Hater (aka my daughter E.) was eating dinner with friends. So I seized the opportunity to indulge in a little hot pepper action and mixed up a batch of super-spicy black bean-potato salad and let it marinate in the fridge until very cold. It tasted wonderful to my heat-seeking husband and me. But if you don't like things quite so spicy, be sure you cut down on the chipotle and jalapeño peppers. It'll still be tasty but won't burn going down!



Southwestern Black Bean Potato Salad
(about 5-6 servings)

1 teaspoon ground flax seed
2 tablespoons hot water
2 pounds small red potatoes
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1/2 cup finely chopped red pepper
1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained (3 cups cooked beans)
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 large tomato, chopped
1 -2 tablespoons chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, chopped
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
mixed greens or lettuces (optional serving suggestion)

Combine 1 teaspoon ground flax seed with two tablespoons hot water in a small cup or bowl and set aside to thicken.

Place potatoes in a saucepan, and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 20 minutes or until tender. Drain; cool. Cut potatoes into 3/4-inch cubes. Place potatoes in a large bowl. Add corn, red pepper, onions, black beans (rinsed and drained very thoroughly), jalapeño pepper, and tomatoes and mix well.

Remove 1 chipotle chile from can. Chop chile to measure 1 to 2 tablespoons. (Reserve remaining chiles and adobo sauce for another use--I like to mince them and freeze them in ice cube trays.) Combine chopped chipotle chile, flax seed mixture, lime juice, garlic, salt, cumin, chili powder, and black pepper, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle the lime juice mixture over potato mixture, and toss gently. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour, stirring every now and then. Taste and add more lime juice as needed before serving atop mixed greens, if desired.

Note to Eat to Livers: One serving of this should equal your starchy vegetable serving for the day.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Eat to Live

Pasta and Vegetables with Peanut Sauce

When my family and I go on vacation, we either camp with our Coleman stove or stay in cabins or guest houses with kitchens so that we can prepare our meals and not have to worry about finding vegan food in remote places. But cooking can be tricky when we're not in our own kitchen.

When we're camping it's obvious: We plan each meal exactly and bring every pot, utensil, and ingredient we'll need to make each meal. But staying at a cabin that promises a "fully outfitted kitchen" is always a gamble. Sometimes we've found little more than 4 plates and two pots, a tiny one and a huge one. Even the best outfitted rental kitchens are missing something, which is why I always try to come up with the simplest meals to cook on vacation, meals without too many ingredients to carry with us and that don't use any special equipment.

Our standard easy meal while traveling is spaghetti with store-bought sauce. The three of us can eat 8 ounces of pasta and one jar of spaghetti sauce at one meal (along with steamed vegetables). This time, I decided to build off of that meal and save time and ingredients by cooking a full pound of spaghetti and saving half of it for a second night's meal. Since we always travel with a jar of peanut butter, it made sense to make a peanut sauce for the second pasta meal, using the soy sauce and cider vinegar I found in the pantry of the guest house. I kept the spicing simple, using only the basics that we'd brought with us or picked up at a grocery store along the way. Though simple, this turned out to be delicious!



Pasta and Vegetables with Peanut Sauce

8 ounces pasta, cooked
1/2 bunch broccoli, cut into florets and stems peeled and sliced
14 baby carrots, halved lengthwise
2 zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tsp. dark sesame oil
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp. ginger root, minced
2 tablespoons natural peanut butter (I used chunky because that's what we had)
1/2 - 3/4 cup hot water
1/4 cup soy sauce (replace with more water if you're salt-free)
2 tsp. cider vinegar
1/8 - 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
2-4 green onions, sliced

Prepare the pasta and keep it warm. If you're using pre-cooked pasta, bring it to room temperature.

Begin steaming the broccoli and carrots. After a few minutes, or when the broccoli begins to turn bright green, add the zucchini and steam until all vegetables are tender but still crisp. The time will vary depending on the method of steaming you use, so just watch them carefully and don't let them over-cook.

While the vegetables are steaming, heat the sesame oil in a large pot over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the peanut butter, and cook, stirring, until it is heated through. Slowly stir in the hot water and add soy sauce, vinegar, and cayenne. Stir until it is a smooth mixture, adding more water if it is too thick. Then add the cooked pasta and toss to coat.

Once the vegetables are steamed, add them to the pasta and sauce. Mix well and serve sprinkled with chopped green onions.

Makes 4 servings. Each contains 375 Calories (kcal); 8g Total Fat; (18% calories from fat); 18g Protein; 63g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 1138mg Sodium; 10g Fiber. 7 Weight Watchers Flex Points.

We ate this in a garden filled with irises, dianthus, columbine, poppies, and other flowers I couldn't recognize, gazing off into mountains painted red by the sunset. Nothing ever tasted so good!

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free

The Wandering Vegan Returns

View from the Juniper Tree Guest House, Crawford, CO

I'm back from vacation, and I actually do have a recipe and photo to post, a dish I cooked our last night in Colorado. I'll post it a little later, but first I wanted to reply to a few of your comments and say a few things about traveling, as a vegan and just in general.

Thanks to all of you for your comments and suggestions for places to eat. Lindyloo, Annie's Café sounds terrific, and I wish we'd gotten over to Nederland to try it. AK and Karina, I envy you the time you were able to spend in such a gorgeous state! Mary, we passed through Boulder but were in such a hurry to get to the park that we didn't stop; if I ever get back that way, I'll check out Café Prasad.

Traveling as a vegan is, well, an adventure. We found vegan food in some likely places and in some very unlikely places. Estes Park is a real tourist mecca, so it wasn't hard to find vegan or veganizable dishes on menus there. Other places were a real surprise. I've already mentioned Salina, Kansas, right in the middle of "beef country," where we saw a billboard advertising vegetarian food just when we were thinking that we'd never find anything other than Subway. And on the way home, we drove something like 300 miles through northeast New Mexico and northern Texas on a sometimes 2-lane, sometimes 4-lane road, dotted sporadically with towns roughly the size of my backyard. We stopped for the night in one of the larger towns, Childress, Texas, and were amazed to see a Thai-Chinese restaurant right on the highway. I doubted that they'd have anything vegetarian, so I rested in the motel while D. and E. went to check it out. They found a vegetarian section on the menu, complete with tofu! When they ordered their food (and some to-go for me), the waitress said, "We've never had anyone order tofu, at least not since I've worked here. You must not be from around here!"

Some places we weren't so lucky. We drove through Amarillo craning our necks for any sign of restaurants that might do for dinner, but we didn't see anything other than steak houses advertising (I kid you not) 72-ounce steaks. (That's 4 1/2 pounds of beef; do these people not listen to the mainstream health experts that recommend not eating more than a deck-of-cards-sized portion?) In tiny Crawford, Colorado, where we stayed in the beautiful Juniper Tree Guest House to be close to the north rim of the Black Canyon, we didn't even try to eat out but made good use of the well-stocked kitchen and ate outside on the patio, surrounded by flowers and gazing at an incredible view of the West Elk Mountains. We preferred that experience to any restaurant we could imagine.

Finally, I've learned that if you want to be somewhat satisfied with the place you live, never travel anywhere else! Last year we vacationed on the Olympic peninsula in Washington state, and I came home dreaming of moving to Sequim or Port Angeles, where you've got mountains on one side of you and water on the other. Now I'm pining for western Colorado with its terrain that changes constantly as you drive but is never boring. We got home to find that we'd become unaccustomed to the heat and, worst of all, the humidity of Mississippi. I keep trying to remind myself of the good things about living here--the relative low cost of living, the vibrant crepe myrtles just now coming into bloom, the long growing season that's given me tomatoes in my garden that are starting to ripen already--but I keep remembering rounding a curve in the road and seeing a vast view over deep, painted canyons to snow-capped mountains in the distance. Last evening as I sat watching birds in my backyard--for the 15 minutes I could manage before the heat chased me inside--I wished I were back on the cool porch of the Juniper Tree, watching deer grazing in the field with the mountains behind them.

Oh well. I'll be depressed for a little while, but I'll come around. If I seem quiet for a few days, you'll know that I'm taking a little time to get back into the swing of things here in the hot and humid--but very green--South.

And about that contest to guess the mystery dish: The first person to guess correctly posted as anonymous, so I can't really track him or her down. So this is what I'm going to do: If you were one of the people to post (even anonymously) that it was a baked potato with mushrooms, red pepper, broccoli, and chickpeas, email me your mailing address. The first two people to email will receive their choice of a Colorado postcard or bookmark. I'll post a comment below once I've gotten two responses.

Thanks everyone for reading this far. . . and for sticking with this blog over a long break!

Colorado!

Those of you who guessed Colorado were correct. We're in Rocky Mountain National Park, or rather in Estes Park, just outside the park. The photo yesterday was taken at Emerald Lake, and the hike to get there involved picking our way carefully over lots of snow (I wasn't so careful once and slid all the way down a section of the trail on my rear end--which stayed embarrassingly wet the rest of the hike!)

It is incredibly beautiful here. Here are a couple more photos:

That's my daughter E. relaxing on the shore of Bear Lake. Here's another taken from the same lake:

I'd like to bring this around to food, but I'm afraid I haven't been cooking--unless you count the guacamole I improvised to serve with tonight's Garden Burgers. We've had great luck finding vegan food at restaurants, so we've dined out every night but tonight. In Selina, Kansas, we ate at a Mexican restaurant, lured by a billboard that mentioned vegetarian dishes. We were amazed to find one of the dishes on the menu was vegan--and full of fresh vegetables--while the other dishes were easily veganized. Here in Estes Park, we ate Hummus Pizza one night, an interesting concept that didn't taste as good as I'd hoped, and had wonderful Indian food another night. It hasn't been fat-free, of course, but when traveling, I'm happy to find anything vegan!

Tomorrow we're headed to the western side of the state to visit the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. We won't have wireless internet in the remote cottage where we're staying, so I don't think I'll be able to post until we're on the way back.

Oh, there were some questions I wanted to answer: Danielle, I used a packaged cheesy sauce this time, but if you check Recipes Index, I've got a couple of recipes in the Sauces section that I really like.

Freedom, I tried to answer your question about the marinated peppers, but my computer picked that moment to crash. I think that they would be fine--just maybe use a little less than you would of the roasted red peppers. Try tasting as you add them.

Take care, everybody! I'll be back soon.

Mystery Revealed

Well, you are all just too good at guessing! Here's the full picture:


A baked potato with sauteed red bell pepper, portabella mushrooms, broccoli, and chickpeas. And though I took the photo without it, I did in fact add some cheesy sauce just before serving.

So many of you guessed correctly, with varying amounts of details, that I'm not sure how to pick a winner. I'll think it over and get back to you. Right now I'm away from home, typing on The Slowest Laptop Computer in the World. I may not be able to post again for a few days.

But, if you like guessing games, I'll leave you with one more. Guess where we are, based on this photo of my husband and daughter (and no guessing if I told you where we were going!)



Hint: We're still in the U.S., but it was a long drive!

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free

Mystery Dish

I'll be taking a break from blogging for a few days, but I thought I'd leave you with a little guessing game. Tonight we had a "clean out the fridge" meal to use up several perishable items; I combined them all in one very common meal. Can you guess it from looking at this extreme close-up?

Post your guesses in the comments, and in a few days I'll post the "big picture." The first person to guess correctly will win a prize...a mystery prize!

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free